Voices of Marginality is theoretically grounded in the theology of the diaspora which
according to Fernando F. Segovia has been forged in the migratory experience of American
Hispanics. This theological perspective views Judean exiles (587 B.C.E.) and contemporary
Mexican migrants as part of a recurring diasporic human experience. The present analysis «reads
across» from the exile and return envisioned in the poetry of Second Isaiah (40-55) to the
corridos (ballads) about Mexican immigration to the United States. More specifically the
diasporic categories of exile and return in Second Isaiah inform our reading of exile and
return in the Mexican immigrant corridos. Conversely the rhetorical ability of these corridos
to transmit a collective Mexican identity for immigrants in the United States provides a
compelling lens for understanding the images of exile and return in Second Isaiah. Ultimately
both literary productions reflect voices of marginality.
